Community honors Hailey's memory

Feb. 20, 2014

Jeremy Miles and his kids Kyle, 11, Jenna, 7 and Brianna, 10, drove from Crane to leave flowers and say a prayer at the site of Hailey Owens's abduction on Wednesday, February 19, 2014. Miles said he grew up in the neighborhood. / Valerie Mosley/News-Leader

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Charges filed against Craig Wood: Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson announces with emotion that charges have been filed against Craig Wood in the abduction and killing of Hailey Owens.

Show your support

• Tip at Ben’s on the Square, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday at 103 A W. Church St. Cash tips given at Ben’s on Square will be donated to Hailey Owens’ family. • Wear Pink and Purple, Friday. People everywhere are asked to wear pink and purple to remember Hailey. Those were her favorite colors. • Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast, 7-10 a.m., Saturday. 1855 E. Primrose Ave. Admission is $5. All proceeds will go to Hailey Owens’ family. Today through Feb. 28, Springfield and Nixa Applebee’s restaurants will sell paper ribbons for a minimum of $1 in remembrance of Hailey. Apple Central LLC, Applebee’s local franchise partner, will match the donations dollar for dollar up to $5,000. • Sertoma Chili Cook-Off, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday at the Springfield Expo Center, 635 E. St. Louis St. A donation booth will be located in the lobby for anyone who wants to donate to Hailey Owens’ family. • Chili Supper and Fundraising Dinner, 3-8 p.m., Saturday at Strafford High School, 213 W. McCabe St., Strafford. There is a $5 donation for all-you-can-eat chili. There will be a silent auction, raffle and bake sale. Raffle tickets are $1 per ticket, or $5 for six tickets. Items auctioned off include massages, show tickets, tattoo vouchers, restaurant gift-certificates, auto-repair vouchers and bookstore gift certificates. • Candlelight Vigil, 8-9 p.m., Saturday on Commercial Street. Gather at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Commercial Street. Public parking is available immediately south of Commercial Street. Marchers are asked to bring their own candles. • Porch Lights for Hailey Owens, through Sunday. People everywhere are asked to leave on their porch light in memory of Hailey. • Hailey Owens Memorial Fund, Those interested in making a contribution to Hailey Owens’ family can donate in person at any of Empire Bank’s branches in Springfield, Nixa, Ozark, Marshfield, Fair Grove, Republic, Pleasant Hope, Highlandville, Strafford and Battlefield. Donations can also be mailed to: Empire Bank C/O Hailey Owens Memorial Fund P.O. Box 3397 Springfield, MO 65808.

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Nothing can be done to bring Hailey Owens back.

But community members are doing everything they can to make sure she is never forgotten.

People that never even met the 10-year-old girl who loved to play outside and dress up are moved to do something to honor her life.

Jeremy Miles walked with his kids Kyle, 11, Brianna, 10, and Jenna, 7, Wednesday evening to place flowers under a tree at a home near where Hailey was abducted.

Miles’ dad lives just blocks from that house. He said he had planned to come by the neighborhood Tuesday afternoon and fly kites. Hailey was abducted right before 5 p.m.

“They would’ve been here,” he said looking at his kids with tears in his eyes.

When a body that Springfield police say is likely Hailey’s was found early Wednesday, Lisa Campbell, family friend and employee of Duane “Odie” Lowery, Hailey’s grandfather, started to organize an event to raise money for “whatever the family needs.”

What began as a small-scale chili supper and raffle has grown. Campbell said she anticipates more than 1,000 people to attend the fundraiser at Strafford High School on Saturday. Nearly 100 local businesses have donated goods and services to be raffled and auctioned off. Harter House in Strafford donated the food for the all-you-can-eat cook-off and the meal will be prepared by the Strafford Fire Department, where Hailey’s aunt, Chandra Calhoun, worked for more than a decade.

“I wasn’t expecting this much response. It just keeps coming,” Campbell said. “I have had people calling me from all different states and asking what they can do.”

She said the support has been overwhelming.

Campbell remembers Hailey as “a beautiful little girl who loved everything with a contagious giggle. If she started giggling, you were giggling right with her.”

Hailey’s aunt, Erin Petersen, said she is overwhelmed by the community’s support. Petersen said Hailey has become “everyone’s child.” People want to make sure she is remembered and honored, she said.

“They don’t want to sit on idle hands,” Petersen said. “Everyone is feeling this, not just the family.”

Petersen said Hailey’s favorite colors were pink and purple. Across the community today, people will be wearing those colors to honor the fourth-grader.

Nixa Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith tweeted Thursday afternoon that “Nixa students & staff will be wearing more purple & pink than normal” today. He will be wearing a pink tie.

“We thought it was something that would be therapeutic for us and send a strong message of support for others,” Kleinsmith said. “We just need to stick together as a community.”

There has been discussion in Nixa classes about the tragedy. Kleinsmith said students are sickened and in disbelief. He said the key to working through a tragedy like this is talking about it.

“Open communication between parents and children and students and teachers. Talk openly about the dangers of strangers,” he said.

Kleinsmith said students and staff were told Thursday about the idea to wear pink and purple.

“Everyone’s hearts are going out for her,” he said. “Everyone I’ve talked to in Nixa — their hearts bleed for the family.”

In support of Hailey, employees at Mercy will wear pink and purple ribbons, said spokeswoman Sonya Kullman.

Kullman said the tragedy has affected everyone “in a smaller city like Springfield where we’re all pretty close-knit.”

In an effort to bring the community together, a candlelight march in memory of Hailey is scheduled for Saturday on Commercial Street. Nearly 5,000 people are attending, according to a Facebook page for the event.

Originally organized by community members, the event has been sanctioned by the city. People are asked to gather at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Commercial Street on the west side of the Commercial Street at 8 p.m., according to a release from the city.

A moment of silence will be held at the end of the march.

Many community members are connecting through social media sites, as well.

Several pages have been created in honor of Hailey. One page, In Loving Memory of Hailey Owens, has more than 163,000 Facebook likes. Comments are posted every couple of minutes, with well-wishes from locals and people across the country. Many comments also have photo and video collages of Hailey and her family.

The pages are not asking for money, but are a place where people can post their thoughts and offer their sympathies.

Another page asked people all over the world to leave their porch light on to show support to Hailey’s family. Hundreds of photos of porch lights have been posted to the page. Some people indicated they did not have a porch light, but turned on car lights or house lights instead.

On the street where Hailey was abducted, flowers, teddy bears and cards rest under a tree in a house’s lawn. A steady stream of visitors came Wednesday early evening to leave items for the family.

Patricia Swanke was one of them. She came with a white bear and a card that labeled “to family.”

“I just feel horrible,” Swanke said. “I have two kids. It’s just been bugging me all day.”

She said she is hugging her kids a little closer.

Swanke echoed the message many community members have wanted to express to the family.

“(I’m) sorry for their loss and I’m praying for them to get through this,”: she said. “I can’t even imagine.”